Austrian financial group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) may reject a deal to buy a 27.78% stake in the construction company Strabag SE from the structure of Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska for €1.5 billion. writes about this Reuters By consulting knowledgeable sources.
The reason for this, the agency writes, is pressure from the United States, which believes that the real beneficiary will be Deripaska himself, who is under American sanctions.
According to them, US financial authorities have requested the RBI to provide the complete list of participants in the transaction. If violations of sanctions restrictions are detected, the bank faces penalties. One of the agency’s interlocutors said that American borders would force Austrian authorities to refrain from approving the buyback of Strabag shares, and the RBI itself would have to abandon this deal.
It was initially assumed that the Russian subsidiary of the RBI, Raiffeisenbank, would acquire a stake in Strabag from the company Rasperia, one of the co-owners of which is the structure of Deripaska’s Fundamental Element. This shareholding would then be transferred to the management of a subsidiary of RBI Gabarts, headed by Stefan Zohling, the former top executive of Deripaska companies.
The RBI insists the transaction does not violate existing sanctions against Deripaska. The businessman’s representative refers to previous statements that he does not control the Rasperia company.
Before that in Turkey statedHe said US pressure had a negative impact on the country’s energy security.
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